Restricted Lazarsfeld-Mukai bundles and canonical curves

Abstract: We prove two results. First, we establish that the normal bundle of any smooth curve of genus 7 having maximal Clifford index is stable. Note that 7 is the smallest genus for which such a result could possibly hold. We then show that rank four Lazarsfeld-Mukai vector bundles on a curve that lies on a general K3 surface are stable. Both results have consequences for Mercat's conjecture on higher rank vector bundles on generic curves.